


Quarter Life Crisis

by Diana_Munroe



Category: A Different World, Being Human (US/Canada), Charmed (TV 2018), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bonnie goes to Hillman College, Character Study, F/M, Freddie Brooks, Gen, Original Character(s), Protective Damon Salvatore, Sassy Damon Salvatore, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26099476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diana_Munroe/pseuds/Diana_Munroe
Summary: After being on road for years, Bonnie settles in Seattle where she meets the witches known as The Charmed Ones and finds herself in the middle of another supernatural battle that lands her back in the arms of the one person she thought she had left behind forever.
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett/Damon Salvatore, Harry Greenwood/Macy Vaughn, Sally Malik/Aidan Waite
Comments: 40
Kudos: 69





	1. Boston Meet Damon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kunqw1FWrJM - For a reference on Bonnie's Afro. Kat Graham's natural hair care video. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

PROLOGUE

He knew he shouldn’t have come. This town was a nest of old memories. The cobblestone streets taunted him with their age, knowing, somehow, that he had seen them in their former glory under the clump of horse hoofs. He looked up at the admittedly kind of shabby rowhouse. The idea that his old friend lived here was… disconcerting to say the least, but he guessed people changed after half-century. He should know. 

He jogged his way up the steps, an action he would have barely registered four years ago and now, he noted that it left him energized, but slightly winded. He knocked on the wood door and leaned to the calm, cocky stance he was known for. The weight of his leather jacket across his shoulders felt like a costume of sorts, something that fit, but was just for show. 

He snorted. He supposed it has always been that way. The door swung open and a tall, broad, shocking pale man filled the doorway. He had jet black hair and a strong jawline that was reserved for cathedral walls and marble statues. His dark eyes widened and he took in the dark-haired, blue-eyed, slightly more slender man before him. 

“Damon?” Aidan questioned. 

Damon smiled slowly, with something nearly feral in his gaze, “No, your fairy godmother.” 

Aidan let out a huff of laughter. 

Damon gestured to inside the house, “You going to let me in?” 

Aidan’s muscles tensed as he stepped outside, closing the door behind him. 

“Do you have anyone with you?” 

Damon narrowed his eyes at him, “Since when do I have friends?” 

Aidan shrugged, “I hear things.” 

“So do I.” 

Aidan folded his arms, “Why are you here?” 

Damon’s eyes darted to the side and back to Aidan, “Can we do this inside?” 

Aidan returned Damon’s stare with an implacable one of his own. 

“Please,” Damon insisted. 

Taken aback, Aidan looked at Damon questioningly and, coming to a decision, turned and pushed the door into his home. 

“Come on in,” Aiden offered and Damon eased through the door. 

As Aiden led him to the main living area, Damon took in the big screen tv, second-hand couch and other furnishings that could generously be called “well-loved”. Aiden turned to him again. 

“So what do you want in Boston?” Aidan asked calmly. 

“Aidan!” Sally called from up stairs, breaking the manly stare down. Damon’s eyebrows went up in interest. 

Sally rushed down the stairs in a black shorts and green tank top. 

“Have you seen my good… Hello,” she finished, noticing the new man in her living room. 

“Hey,” Damon replied, letting his famous smirk come across his face. 

Aidan let out a breath, “Sally, this is Damon. Damon, this is--” 

Sally rushed in and grabbed Damon’s hand to shake it hard, “His currently, very single roommate, Sally.” 

“Is that so?” 

Sally leaned in to him, “Yes. Very.” 

“Sally,” Aiden interjected. 

Sally quickly stepped back, “Vampy Business, right.” 

She turned toward Damon, “Would you like some blood? I can warm you up a cup.” 

“I just ate, but thanks,” he replied, winking at her. 

“Your welcome,” Sally tittered and made her way out of the living room.

“I, however, would love a cup,” Aidan said, making his voice carry into the kitchen. 

“Make your own,” Sally shouted back.

Aiden rolled his eyes. It was going to be a rough day. He could tell already. 

Damon looked at Aidan questioning, “You let her get away with that?” 

“I don’t ‘let’ her do anything. She’s my friend. She does whatever the hell she wants. But back to you. What are you doing here?” 

Damon laughed, “You were never the brains of the outfit, that’s for sure.” 

“Damon!” 

Damon held his hands up in surrender, “I can show you better than I can tell you.” 

He shrugged off his jacket and pulled off the replica of his famous ring off of his finger. Suddenly Aidan heard the rush of blood flow through Damon’s veins. His scent was strong, earthy and… 

“Human. Your…” 

“100% walking blood bank.” 

Aidan narrowed his eyes at him “How?” 

Damon wiggled his fingers, “Magic. And Stefan.”

“Your brother? You finally killed him and gave up on the whole “torturing him for eternity” thing?” Aidan questioned. 

Damon winced. He would never deny his past, but Aidan’s off handed remark reminded him about how much their relationship had changed over the past decade. And how much he truly missed is annoyingly self-sacrificing little brother. 

“Stefan and I...figured out how to be brothers again. So much that he thought I was worth dying for. Idiot.” 

“I’m sorry,” Aidan replied, shocked. 

Damon smiled with a mocking sadness in his eyes, “Story of my life. I finally learned to love him again and he leaves me.” 

Damon’s eyes started to mist. He wiped at eyes furiously. 

“This is what I hate about being human. So many damn emotions. It was so much easier when I was just an evil vampire bastard,” he muttered.

”Have a seat,” Aidan offered. Damon’s humanity shocked him, but this emotional display was truly disturbing. This was not the cocky vampire from a century ago. Damon made his way to the couch and looked at his one-time mentor. 

“I just need a place to crash to figure things out. And a vampire I can trust to keep my secret.”

Aidan looked him over, “How’d you do that anyway?” 

Damon picked up his ring, “This. My old ring made me a daywalker and this one is my ‘vamp disguise’. Magic witchy stuff, but it works.”

“Who made it?”

\----------------------------------  
“Bonnie Bennett?” Mel called from outside her shop in Safe Space. A petite and gorgeous Black woman with a soft blow-out afro, parted on one side, stood up.

“That’s me,” she said with a bright smile. 

“Come on in,” Mel Vera said and opened the glass door to her business.


	2. Interview with a Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie interviews for a new job.

Walking through the glass doors of the small shop, Bonnie glanced around at the herbs, candles, and crystals that populated the shelves of Spellbound Botanica. The items were arranged in the way that was purposeful, but not cluttered like she had seen in other supposed “occult” shops. This one had a different vibe to it with the herbs, candles, and stones displayed by purposes such as healing, cleansing, or good luck. The scent of lavender glided gently on the air and made her smile. 

Somehow, it reminded her of Enzo, her vampire boyfriend who had lost his life in her final mission to save her old Virginia town of Mystic Falls. Enzo was something of guiding presence to her now. He enjoyed simple things like reading to her just so he could be a little dramatic and he knew she loved the rumble in his voice. Or cooking with just the right spices, that he knew would lift her out of a funk and put a smile on her face. For so many years, her life was so big and complicated, werewolves and warlocks, Original Vampires and omens, predators and prey, that when he did something small, it was one of the only times the world seemed quiet enough that she could focus on herself. 

She breathed in deeper, letting the scent fill her. 

“We make our own,” Mel, the woman who would hopefully become her new boss, said to her. 

Bonnie smiled at the dark-haired Latin woman in front of her. Now pushing 25 herself, Mel appeared to be around the same age as Bonnie. She reminded Bonnie of her Grams, just a little bit. Not that they looked anything alike really, but something about the no-sense vibe with this deep core of caring was almost identical in the two women. It made Bonnie feel like she could trust her or at least like she didn’t need to be on her guard as much. 

“You’re very talented,” Bonnie commented, “Extracting and mixing oils can be delicate work.” 

“Thank you. Please, have a seat,” Mel said and gestured to the two black chairs facing each other in the middle of the store. 

They both took a seat while Mel lifted the piece of paper in her face. 

“So it says here, you’re from Virginia. What brings you all out here to Seattle?” Mel asked, congenially. 

Bonnie briefly wondered if she should explain that she promised her dead vampire boyfriend that she would travel the world to find herself and the spirit of her ancestors guided her here? 

Bonnie shrugged, “Change of scenery. I’ve lived on the east coast all of my life. I wondered what the other side of the country had to offer.” 

Mel smiled, “I’m from Michigan myself. Seattle is definitely different.” 

“I look forward to getting to know the city.” 

Mel nodded and continued perusing Bonnie’s resume, “And, Wow! You got your Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Folklore and Holistic Medicine with a minor in Herbology from Hillman College.”

Mel looked up at her, “You’re an academic witch.” 

Bonnie laughed, “Yes. I am.” 

“My sisters would love you,” Mel said.

“Sisters?” 

“Maggie and Macy. They’ll probably be in and out of the shop occasionally. Maggie is the Assistant Manager here.” 

“Oh, so this is a family business?” 

Mel wrinkled her nose a bit, “I guess you could call it that. We all have an interest in botanicals so to speak.” 

“So friends and family discounts are a thing.” 

“Yes,” Mel said and looked down the resume even further, “So it says here you worked retail in Paris, front desk associate at a hostel in Amsterdam and a lieutenant on the Town Council. Were you in the military?”

This was one of the hardest parts of Bonnie's writing her resume. How do you turn mastering magic and being front lines of a supernatural war for most young adult life into job experience? 

“No,” Bonnie explained, “The town council is old. Like Civil War old. So the titles are outdated and a little archaic.”

Mel snorted, “As are most things created by old white guys.” 

Bonnie chuckled out loud. Mel smiled at her. 

“Am I wrong?” Mel asked. 

“Not at all,” Bonnie said, “It’s just where I come from, reverence for the Founding Families, and the old days of Dixie are quite high.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah, there’s this Founder’s Day and Miss Mystic Falls. Lots of period costume. You know it’s weird seeing my friends in these costumes knowing that if this was the actual time period, I would be a slave, or “hand maiden” or God-forbid, a bedwarmmer.” 

Mel assessed Bonnie and then lifted her hand up for a high-five, “Here’s to not living in the past.” 

“Yes,” Bonnie said and slapped hands with her. 

As soon as their hands touched, Bonnie got a jolt of flashes in my mind. Monster and demons she had never seen before roaring, clawing, attacking, and a loud “Potentia Trium” rang in her ears. 

She blinked. Typically, visions were not a part of her gift, she wasn’t sure what was going on here, but one thing was clear, Mel, whoever she was, was powerful. 

Mel cocked her head to the side and looked at Bonnie, “Are you okay?” 

“Yes. Yes,” Bonnie recovered and focused on Mel again, “This is my thinking face.” 

“Thinking? About what?” 

Bonnie glanced behind Mel to a small collection of potted plants by the counter. 

“Those herbs are wrong,” she muttered.

“What?” Mel asked and watched as Bonnie made her way to counter. 

“The small aloe plants should be with healing herbs so if someone wants to make a salve or a tonic, it’s all in the same place. While plants can be decorative, I assume most of your clients are using plants, not just looking at them,” she finished. 

Mel frowned and looked at the three small aloe plants on the counter. She grabbed them and arranged them around the middle table with a few other herbs. 

“Hm,” she said and looked at Bonnie, “You got the job.”

Bonnie’s eyes went wide, “Really.” 

Mel smiled, “Yeah. This wasn’t my place originally. It belonged to a woman who was a lot more sensitive than I am. The vibe has been functional, but a little off since I took over. Maybe you’re the magic that this place needs.” 

“You don’t like plants?” Bonnie asked. 

Mel thought about it for a second, “I respect them, but they don’t speak to me.” 

“I can understand that.” 

Suddenly the door swung open and a smaller, dark-haired Latin woman with a sweet face burst in.

“We gotta go,” the woman demanded, out of breath. Her frantic energy triggered an automatic tension in Bonnie’s body. Almost by instinct, she began to call potential magic to her, ready for a fight. She was about to ask what was going on when she heard Mel’s voice. 

“Now??!!” Mel asked, shocked. 

“Yes! Now. Come on,” she said. Bonnie blinked. Whatever it was, it wasn’t her fight. Neither one of these women knew who she was, what she could do, or expected anything from her. It felt strange, but slowly, she began to release some of the magic that she had called. The woman looked over Mel’s head to see Bonnie and waved

“Hi,” she said and then pointed to herself, “Maggie. Sister. We’re leaving.” 

Mel put the keys in Bonnie’s hand, “Can you lock up?” 

Bonnie gave her a small, worried smile, “Sure. Do you want what you have to do.”

“Thanks, you’re awesome,” Mel said and ran out to meet her sister. 

“You finally found someone?” Maggie asked. 

“No time,” Mel said and sprinted down the stairs. 

“Hey!,” Maggie called, “I can talk and run at the same time.” 

Bonnie watched them race off to whatever adventure, danger, or cry for help that called them away. It was the oddest feeling, watching someone else go on the dangerous mission for a change. She assumed that whatever it was, it had to do with the monsters she saw in her vision earlier. 

She looked up at the aloe plant. Maybe they wouldn’t need it, but it couldn’t hurt to make her own healing concoction just in case they came back a little bruised. No healing vampire blood here, just herbs and magic. Bonnie looked around again. It would do.


	3. Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Charmed Ones have a mission like never before.

Maggie and Mel burst through the door of the Command Center in the basement of Safe Space Seattle. Maggie and Mel’s frantic rush from Spellbound Botanica to the magically cloaked sub basement wasn’t exactly subtle, but that’s what magically disappearing secret passageways were for. 

Macy, their eldest sister, leaned over the control panel of their witchboard, the interactive world map that let them know when witches around the world were in danger. Macy turned her head to see them enter the command center. 

“Great, you made it just in time,” she said and returned to the witchboard. The witchboard zoomed in on two blinking lights in Salem, Massachusetts. Maggie and Mel marched down the stairs to meet their sister on the ground floor. 

“Are you ready?” Maggie asked as Macy pushed down the round controller, creating a portal behind her and her sisters. Next to the controller, a small marble flew up from the control panel and hovered. Macy grabbed the marble that would activate their return-home portal and turned to Maggie. 

“As I’ll ever be. It’s not everyday we get to be witch doulas.” 

Mel looked around, “Where’s Harry?” 

Macy sighed, “He’s been a nervous wreck all day, but he’s coming.” 

Just then, Harry appeared into the room, dressed in jeans, a dark sweater and a heavy diaper bag across his shoulder. Mel, Maggie, and Macy barely reacted as their whitelighter from 1950’s Britain made his presence known. 

“Afternoon,” he said. 

Maggie smiled at him, “Hey Harry. Why do you have a diaper bag?” 

“Just extra supplies, smelling salts, candles, herbs. Just precautions,” he replied hurriedly. 

Macy cut her eyes at her sisters as if to say See what I mean. 

“Let’s go,” Mel insisted and all four of them crossed into the portal. 

They landed on a quiet and narrow street lined with thick trees and small, single-family homes of various sizes on each side. Maggie looked around. 

“Does this place feel old to you?” she asked. 

Maggie has always been the most sensitive of the three so she knew that sometimes she could experience things that her sisters did not. This time, her sister nodded at her in confirmation. This place had a presence, not a bad one, but it was strong. The witches looked up at Harry. He shrugged. 

“It is Salem,” he said, “Part of your history is in this town, as it is for many witches. You’re bound to feel some residual energy.” 

“Maybe it will help with the baby,” Mel suggested. 

They marched forward, finding the right house on the next block. 

Ava Bennett, the witch who had asked for their help with her home birth, lived in a distinctive blue and purple house. Ava’s partner, Charlie, greeted them at the door and led all four of them to the living room where Ava lay on the couch with her midwife, Laura, at her side. A small, inflatable pool sat in the room, waiting patiently for its new occupant. Ava smiled as she looked up and saw the Charmed Ones. 

“Hi,” she said weakly. The 35-year-old’s normal honey-brown skin was ashen with sweat.

Macy smiled back at her, “It’s good to see you. We’ll set up and when you’re ready, we’ll be set to go.” 

Ava nodded and winced as she felt a powerful contraction ran through her body.

The Charmed Ones went to work blessing and cleansing the house. Harry stayed behind in the living room, just in case Ava needed to be healed or her pain eased if she asked for it. As a whitelighter, he could take some of her pain like a magical epidural without the narcotics, but Ava wanted as natural a birth as possible, given the circumstances.

One month ago, Ava had come on the witchboard, running from members of The Faction, a mysterious group of morals with magic-canceling technology that had been collecting people with supernatural talent. Magic creatures also seemed to be of interest to the group, but no one knew why or what they wanted. The Charmed Ones had been trying to stop them, but The Factions network was vast and by the time they saved one witch, it seemed that another one was in danger. 

Ava had actually shown up on the witch board as two entities because of her baby and with good reason. Ava’s child was not just going to be a normal witch-born child, she would also be one of the merfolk..

Ava’s partner, Charlie, was a tall man with a deep mahogany brown skin and black locks all the way down his back. He was also the leader of a pod of merfolk that made semi-annual trips to Salem. Possessing the magic to walk on land for generations, Charlie’s people often mingled with the local townsfolk when they were in town. Merfolk, in Salem, was just another one of this old town’s many secrets. Charlie and Ava had met, fallen in love and now she was about to give birth to the first half witch, half merchild on record. 

The merfolk already possess powerful magic themselves, though it was mostly aquatic in nature. Ava, the Charmed Ones has learned, came from a long line of witches who were part of the original coven of witches in Salem. Her power combined with Charlie’s meant that this child would be born with magic at their fingertips… and that’s why Macy, Mel and Maggie were here. They weren’t planning on suppressing the child’s magic, but redirecting it if the magic seemed too strong for baby or mommy to handle. The pressure of making it through the birth canal and shock of birth could cause the baby to lash out. Of course, most babies just scream, but for a child with this unparalleled talent, anything was possible.

With candles and chalk, Macy, Mel and Maggie formed a containment circle around the living room. They stood at different points in the circle, creating a triangle with their bodies. 

Laura looked around the room. Candles were lit, sage wafted through the house and the Charmed Ones were at the ready. She leaned in and whispered to Ava, “I think we’re ready.”

Ava nodded and reached for Charlie. He came to her and took most of her weight as all three of them made their way to the small pool. Ava stepped in first, as gently as possible and lowered herself into the water. Charlie went in after, sitting right behind her, letting Ava use him a rest. Finally, Laura stepped in, coaching and calming all along the way.  
Macy, Mel and Maggie closed the circle and began to chant. 

“Circulo de paz  
Círculo de luz  
Protege el amor  
Protege la vida,” they proclaimed as one. 

Laura examined Ava thoroughly and nodded. 

“It’s time,” Laura instructed.

Ava pushed and screamed, as Charlie rubbed her back, encouraging her through this last phase of her labor. She clutched Charlie's hand tightly. 

“Keep breathing, sweetheart. You’re doing great,” Charlie said. 

Ava breathed heavily for a few moments, resting. She looked at Laura. 

“How much more?” she asked. 

“We’ve got a bit to go, but you’re almost there,” Laura said and darted her eyes to Harry. 

He made his way over to her and leaned down outside of the pool. 

“Do you want help?” he asked Ava gently. 

Ava looked at him with wide, brown eyes. 

“Yes,” she replied, several tears coming down her face. 

Harry raised his hand over her forehead and a light came across Ava’s face. She lifted her face into it and took her first easy breath in hours. 

“Thank you,” she said. 

She looked at Charlie and then Laura, “I’m ready.” 

She pushed again, harder, but somehow calmer at the same time. The Charmed ones continued to chant. 

“Circulo de paz  
Círculo de luz  
Protege el amor  
Protege la vida,” they continued. 

“I can see the head,” Laura announced. 

Tears began to come into Charlie’s eyes, “You’re almost there, baby.” 

“One more big one should do it,” Laura said. 

Ava took some short breaths, and then pushed with a long scream that somehow sounded like defiance as opposed to pain. 

“She’s here,” Laura exclaimed and lifted the baby out of the water. As soon as the baby broke the surface of the water, she screamed and the light bulbs all over the house flickered. The flames in the candle blazed higher and hotter in tune with her wails. 

Maggie took that as her cue and projected calm energy toward the child. A mixture of feelings of safety and warmth slowly seemed to calm her as the light steadied. 

“Is she okay?” Ava asked. 

Laura lightly washed the baby and handed her over, “She looks good.” 

“Could you get my bag?” Laura asked Harry. 

He brought her pink tote over to her and Laura pulled out a pair of clamps and scissors. She put the clamps on the umbilical cord and handed the scissor to Charlie. 

“Would you like to do honors?” 

Charlie smiled and after a bit of readjusting, grabbed the scissors and cut in the area that Laura had shown him. Laura then lifted her hands up to the baby as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. 

A purple glow emanated from her fingers as she uttered, “Heartbeat, lungs, circulation, reflexes, reaction.” 

Laura smiled at the new parents, “She’s perfect.” 

Macy, Mel and Maggie slowed their chanting to a stop. 

“May we?” Mel asked. 

Ava nodded and they broke the circle, releasing the energy into the house. With this child’s birth, a new level of protection was added to the already magic energy of the house. This child would indeed have a fascinating life. 

As the Charmed One moved closer to see the baby, Macy looked over at Laura. 

“You’re a witch too?” 

Laura smiled, “Of course. How do you think a normal midwife would react to the webbed feet and hands?” 

“She’ll grow out of it,” Charlie said, still admiring his new daughter, “It just a part of her mer heritage.” 

“What’s her name?” Maggie asked. 

“Emily,” Ava replied.


	4. Bonnie 2.0

Over the next few weeks, Bonnie created a routine. 

Wake up, get dressed, open the shop, sell a few items, and pretend to ignore the fact that Mel, Maggie, Macy and Harry were running themselves ragged. From what she could piece together, Mel, Maggie and Macy were witches. Extremely powerful ones at that and Harry seemed to be a protector of sorts. Looking through Emily and Grams’ grimoires, she thought that they might even be The Charmed Ones, but that was just a guess. It’s not like the Charmed Ones were the only sisterly witches of importance. 

Still, sometimes, she looked at the way they interacted and laughed together and couldn’t help, but feel a little envious. What she would have given to not have to learn about her powers by herself. In the beginning, she had Grams, but then, she didn’t. Being a Black self-taught witch in a town of white vampires was a lot more isolating then she had let on in those days. Especially since everyone seemed at once scared of and yet dismissive of her power. 

A little more respect for her craft, her skill, her art would have been nice as well as someone to talk to about it. 

Bonnie took a deep breath, and restarted crushing in the tea leaves in her bowl. Since working at Spellbound Botantica, she started noticing that teas and tonics were among their best sellers. Using her experience in Herbology, Bonnie had suggested to Mel that they should push that interest and Mel agreed. Bonnie found that the sisters were willing test subjects and pleasant company as they experimented with teas for relaxation, energy, blood circulation etc.

Still, Bonnie watched the bags increase under Mel’s eyes and Maggie’s boxing training increase like she was letting out some hidden fury. They were not okay. Bonnie wondered if she should reveal herself; if she should help somehow. But she had worked hard to put those days of fighting monsters behind her. She didn’t think she was ready to go back. 

\----------------------------------

_Two years ago…_

Bonnie got out of her 2008 blue Chevy Camaro (which she purposefully didn’t think too hard about) and looked up at the college campus before her. Hillman College, Virginia. 

She had received her acceptance letter about two months ago. Fortunately, despite her less than stellar GPA, most of her credits from Whitmore College transferred and she was starting a junior. She would probably be one of the oldest juniors at 22, but travel and soul-searching after leaving Mystic Falls took some time. 

The campus was gorgeous. Right along the James River, the campus was populated with well-kept red brick buildings as well as more modern, glass structures that surrounded the grassy courtyard. Although Bonnie knew that Hillman was a historically Black college, she was struck with how accepted she felt from the moment she stepped on campus. Even without knowing anyone, she didn’t stand out like she normally did. She wasn’t the only Black girl, she wasn’t the only person with tightly coiled hair. It might even be possible that she wouldn’t be the only witch. 

Even though she had really close relationships with her friends in Mystic Falls, it didn’t change the fact that she was always going to be the outlier, the one who was “part of the team, but not really”. Here, on this campus, she was the norm. Her skin, her hair, her history. Yes, she might still make some enemies here, but without the racial undertones, it might lose the sting of feeling fetishized or like someone expected her to be “grateful” for being allowed to be present as opposed to her inclusion simply being her right. 

Bonnie took a deep breath and walked into the administration building.

“Hi,” Bonnie said to the serious-looking front desk receptionist, “I’m here to see the Dean of Students, Dr. Whitley Gilbert-Wayne.” 

“Do you have an appointment?” she asked. 

“Yes, I’m Bonnie Bennett.” 

“One minute. Please have a set.” 

Bonnie nodded and sat in the waiting room for a minute. She looked around at the pictures of the various graduating classes that covered the walls. The students looked happy, as they were supposed to, but there was a pride, even something of a defiance in their stance and Bonnie couldn’t explain. These students looked ready to take on the world. 

“Bonnie,” a voice with a feminine southern-twang called out.

Bonnie turned and nearly fainted. 

“Grams,” she whispered. 

“Pardon?” this woman who looked like her Gram’s twin sister asked. You’d think after Elena and Katherine, and Stefan and Silas, Bonnie would be used to identical strangers, but this was her Grams… but not. The closer Bonnie looked, she could see the differences. Whitley was slightly smaller, her baring was completely different and that strong accent was definitely not her Grams. 

“Sorry, hi. I’m Bonnie Bennett,” she said and reached out her hand to shake. 

“Dr. Gilbert-Wayne,” she replied and took Bonnie’s hand. Bonnie felt… nothing. No flashes, no energy. Whitley, despite her resemblance to her beloved grandmother, seemed to be a completely normal human. 

“Let’s talk in my office,” she said and led Bonnie down a long hallway. 

_Wow_ , Bonnie thought, _This is a completely different world._

***********  
The next two years flew by as Bonnie learned more and more about herself, her interests and even the heritage of Virginia. She had been practicing magic on her own for so long that when she saw a flyer for the Blitches (Black witches) coven she couldn’t believe it. 

The first day of the club there were 12 students in attendance, from all over the country and all over the world. They had different practices from Vodun, to Hoodoo, to Santeria and more. While the club president made it clear that they wouldn’t necessarily be practicing magic on campus, they would learn from one another and hopefully strengthen their practices individually. 

She had found her people from Winfred Brooks, her Applied Folklore professor who doubled as a lawyer to Lena James, the passionate social activist with a love for gardening. It was during this time that she first grew out her hair and learned how to work with it without relaxer, wigs or lace fronts. But more than that, she learned about defining herself for herself, she learned more about saying “no” and protecting her space and most importantly, on one autumn day in her senior year, she learned that there was so much more to being an Bennett than she had ever imagined. 

“Do you feel ready?” a gentle voice asked. 

Bonnie looked up from her notebook to see Professor Winfred “Freddie” Brooks walking up to her. Bonnie sat at the bottom of a massive oak tree with her books as company. Something about the oak tree called to her and she often found herself resting, reading or thinking under its branches. 

“Ready for what, Freddie?” Bonnie asked. At 51 years old, Freddie was one of those professors who actually preferred her students to call her by her first name. An interesting mixture of funky hippie and reserved law practitioner, there was no way to guess how she would be dressed from one day to the next. Today, she had on a long, red printed skirt with a billowy white top. Her sandy colored hair was in two long braids topped with a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses. 

Bonnie smiled. Sometimes Freddie was all witch. Freddie bent down beside her. 

“Ready to graduate, of course.” 

Bonnie scrunched up her nose, “Yes. No. I’m ready to finish up my studies, but I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to leave campus.” 

“Why?’ Freddie asked. 

Bonnie took a breath and looked at the buildings, the river and the oak tree. She took in the crowds of Black students that made their way to class, striving to be excellent like she was. She thought about the calm in her life and the unshakeable knowledge of self that she had developed while being on this campus. 

“I belong here,” she breathed out, finally. 

Freddie smiled at her, “We all do.” 

Freddie looked at the tree behind Bonnie, “This tree. It’s the reason we’re all here. It’s the reason we feel safe.” 

Bonnie rolled on to her feet and stood up. 

“What do you mean?” 

“For at least 300 years, this tree has stood here, keeping watch and sheltering those who needed it. During the Civil War, land that we stand on was held by the Union Army and used as a contraband camp. Day after day after day, people who were enslaved would run away and find this themselves here. Free, but scared and not sure what was going to happen next,” Freddie explained. 

Bonnie touched the bark of the tree with reverence and looked back at Freddie. 

“What happened?” 

“Magic,” Freddie said with a smile. 

“Or that’s one story at least. That a woman came here one night with a mysterious band of compatriots and blessed this tree. It’s said that the blessing of the tree blessed the land itself and the next day, a teacher, a free Black woman, Ms. Margaret Hillman, appeared. Willing to teach all would listen, underneath this very tree,” Freddie finished. 

“Wow,” Bonnie replied. 

Freddie nodded, “It’s amazing the difference one person can make, right?” 

Bonnie shrugged, “I suppose that’s true.” 

Freddie narrowed her eyes at her, “What is it?” 

“Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that you’re always the person that people ask to make a difference. To sacrifice, to change and bend the rules. Do you always have to be the difference just because you can be?” she asked. 

Freddie reached down and grabbed Bonnie’s hands, “Bonnie, you are a powerful young woman.” 

Bonnie closed her eyes and nodded in acceptance. 

“Look at me,” Freddie ordered. 

Bonnie looked at her in the eye. 

“But under no circumstances are you required to use your gifts against your will or just because someone demands it. It is always your choice, Bonnie Bennett. And never, ever let anyone guilt you or force you into thinking otherwise.” 

A tear stubbornly made it into Bonnie’s eye as she uttered, “Okay.”

Freddie gave her a tight lipped smile. 

“Do you remember what the motto of the Hillman College is?” 

“Deus Nondum Te Confecit,” Bonnie recalled. 

“God has not yet finished you,” Freddie translated, “When self-emancipated people came here, they knew that they weren’t done. Not only could they learn, but the skills they had been taught to benefit someone else could finally be used to set themselves free. And generation after generation have come here with that same hope. Including you.” 

Bonnie let out a shuttering laugh, tears flowing freely now. 

“You hear me, Bonnie Bennett.” 

Bonnie wiped her tears with the back of her hand, “I hear you, Freddie.” 

“Good, because God’s not done with you.” 

“Thank you,” Bonnie said and leaned down to get her things. 

“I’m sorry, Freddie, but I’ve got to go.” 

Freddie smiled, “I’ll see you in class.” 

Bonnie was about to leave the shade of the tree, but then she stopped, thinking about the first part of Freddie’s story. 

“Freddie?” 

“Um?” 

“The woman who blessed the tree. Who was she?”

Freddie got a slightly faraway look in her eye as she thought, “Kind of been lost time. It’s only a legend, anyway.” 

“What does the legend say?” Bonnie pressed. 

“It says she was a witch,” Freddie stated, “The great witch of Mystic Falls to be precise.”

\---------------------------  
That moment changed everything for Bonnie. Although she knew her ancestor, Emily Bennett was powerful, she never knew anything about her outside of her history at Mystic Falls. Emily was more than just a side character in the Damon, Stefan, Katherine love triangle. More than the useful witch to make artifacts for both sides of a supernatural battle. 

She used her gifts for herself and things she found important like protecting a whole community and those she loved. Mystic Falls was 80 miles and an hour and a half drive away from Hillman College and yet it was the place where Emily chose to make a difference. She chose. SHE chose. She CHOSE. 

The glass door of Spellbound Botantica swung open and Mel, Macy and Maggie made their way onto the chair, on the window sill and on the bench respectively. They looked rung out, like they were barely keeping it together. Bonnie didn’t know how much help she could be being that she was only one witch and they were three, but she remembered how many times she wished she could have reached for help or that it would have been offered. 

She walked up to the open sign on the door and flipped over. 

“You don’t need to do that,” Mel said, “We’ll be out of your hair in a second.” 

“Actually,” Bonnie said, “Wanted to talk.” 

She snapped her fingers and frosted up the glass walls and windows, giving them privacy in the small botanical shop.


	5. Portland Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once upon a time in Portland, there was an ex-vampire with a bar.

_Six months ago_

“Hey, Buddy! Can we get some service over here?” a blond frat boy yelled from the edge of the bar. Damon ignored the voice and looked up at the liquor license in the mirror. It read. 

_Certified by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission  
Damon Valstorea, owner of Falls Bar, is permitted to acquire and store spirits and liquor for the purpose of sale in the state of Oregon _

It was a lot of work to get that license. He actually had to go and take a test and not just buy it like he did the building, but it was worth it. He was proud he had earned something that was totally his. Even if the customers were annoying at times. Like now. Damon was never big on patience, but between an argument with one of his vendors this morning and Elena doing 36-hour shifts for the past week, he was spent. The last thing he needed was this child giving him orders in his own bar. 

When he and Elena had moved to Portland two years ago, it had been the beginning of their new lives together. He had the bar and she was working her ass off in medical school, just like they had planned. Of course, everything wasn’t perfect, but they had built a life together that seemed to be working… except when an entitled, Ivy League, shit-for-brains walked into his place like he was supposed to be impressed. 

Damon turned around and sized up his victim; brown hair, 6’1, decent build, expensive clothes, and a haircut that screamed: “This will please mother”. Around “Norman Bates” were his equally mediocre hangers-on, a discount Harry Potter and a guy who, despite the flashy suit, looked like he had peaked at 13. 

Damon put on the fake smile he had learned to master since he became human. It made him ill, but he learned to deal with it. Still, some days, he wished he could still grab someone at vamp speed, hold them in the air with one hand, watch them beg for mercy, let out his fangs and drain them dry. Those fantasies didn’t happen often anymore, but when they did, it was intense. Like, now, as he watched “Norman” try to talk up the clearly disinterested blond woman on the next barstool. Damon has actually zeroed in on her as she had sat down about five minutes before Chad, Chadford, Chad Jr. arrived. He considered a few ways to undercut their egos and send them packing, but in the end, the old classic of making them feel insecure about their sexual prowess won out. 

His plan decided. Damon leveled his gaze at the woman, waiting for her to register the feeling of interested eyes on her. It took less than 5 seconds for her to lift her head up, lock eyes with him and shyly tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. Were he still a vampire, it would have been 2 seconds, but he had learned to live with the delay. 

He sauntered over to her and gave her that half-smirk with a glint of light in his eye, “What can I get you?” 

“Hey, we were here, first,” ‘Norman’ said. 

Damon lifted his eyes up to him, boredom all over his face, “No, you weren’t, half-pint. And even if you were, do you want to be the douche that denied this lovely lady a drink?” 

“Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t give a shit,” he said and turned to the woman, “So you’re thinking Mojito, Mai Tai or wine?” 

‘Norman’ grabbed Damon’s shoulder, “I was talking to you!” 

Damon looked at the hand on his shoulder and back up at the guy’s face. 

“A few years ago, I would have ripped your heart out,” he stated, low and deadly.

‘Norman’ chuckled nervously, “Ha. You hear this guy. He’s nuts.” 

Damon widened his eyes and smiled, “Oh, I’m out of my mind.” 

Damon moved his body, grabbed ‘Norman’ s hand, and twisted it in a wrist lock that drove ‘Norman’s face into the bar counter. ‘Norman’ squealed in pain while his buddies backed up, unsure what to make of the scene. Damon leaned into him. 

“In fact, I’m so crazy that I own this entire fucking bar and have the right to refuse service to assholes like you and your buddies,” Damon twisted a little harder, “No matter who your daddy is. You got that?” 

“I got it. I got it!” 

“Good. Now get out,” he said and released him. 

Holding on to what was left of their dignity, the three marched out of the bar. The pretty blonde looked at him with appreciation. 

“Wow. That was amazing.” 

Damon shrugged, “I’m an amazing kind of guy. Now, what would you like?” 

“After that?! What you like?” she asked, batting her lashes at him. 

Damon smiled, “I’m taken.” 

She pouted, “I won’t tell if you won’t.” 

Damon leveled her with a look. 

She sighed, “Glass of white, then.”

Damon gave her the glass and poured. She stayed at the bar, watching him serve other customers. Suddenly, one of the Chads, the Harry Potter one, returned. Damon looked at him.

“I thought I kicked you out!” 

Chad raised his hands up, “Hey, man. I don’t want any trouble. My buddy just left his phone.” 

Damon nodded and let the guys search the ground for his friend's phone. After he grabbed it, he turned to the woman and smiled. 

“Sorry about my friend,” he said and began to reach over her glass to shake her hand. Suddenly, Damon grabbed the man’s clenched hand. The man tried to release his hand, but Damon’s grip was too strong. 

“Turn your hand over and open it,” Damon ordered

The man still tried to break Damon’s grip, but it didn’t budge. 

“Do it, or I break it.” 

Chad broke out into a sweat and slowly turned his wrist around. Damon let go of his hand and he opened. A small, white pill lay at the center of his palm. Damon narrowed his eyes at him. 

“Why do you think I kicked you all out?! Get the fuck out,” Damon ordered. Chad scrambled and stumbled his way out. 

\--------------------  
A few nights later, the blond woman came back with some friends in tow. 

“And this is the handsome man who saved me,” she said as a way of introduction to her gaggle of girlfriends. 

“You were right. He’s so hot,” one of them said. 

Damon smiled, “I’m flattered ladies. And since you’ve brought me so much business, how about the first rounds, on the house.” 

The cheer hit a decibel that Damon didn’t even realize was possible and left them in the care of one of his bar staff to take a break. He made his way to the side alley with his own glass of bourbon for company. Resting the brick wall, he took a swig of the brown liquid. It burned a little more than he remembered, but he still loved it. It was one of the few things from his days as a vampire that he could still enjoy. 

“Hey, hero,” he heard a low, female voice call out at him. He closed his eyes and took another long sip. 

“I’m no hero, sister,” he said and rolled his head to face the voice, “I’m just a guy with a liquor license.” 

A beautiful, but clearly muscled woman came into his view. Her skin was light brown, just a shade or two darker than tan, with a riot of dark curls controlled by a side part. Her make up was heavy, with dark lids, dark red lips, and a piercing just under her mouth. She was sexy in that “I could kiss you or kill you” kind of way. Damon decided he liked her. 

“Your friends are inside,” he said. 

“Trust me, those sorority girls are not my friends,” she darted her eyes to the door, “They’re not my type, either.”

Damon turned his body to her, “Oh, and what is?” 

She chuckled, “Not you either, cowboy.”

“Hey, I make the nicknames.” 

She smirked, “Then get better at it.” 

Damon narrowed his eyes at her, “Who are you?” 

She raised her chin at him, “My name’s Jada.” 

She opened her hand and suddenly the glass in Damon’s hand seemed to warp in on itself and disappeared. It reappeared in Jada’s hand. 

“And I’m a witch,” she said and took a sip of the drink.  
\------

It turned out that Jada needed a job and was interested in being the general manager for the ex-vampire’s establishment. Since saving the blonde (Chelsea, a local politician's daughter as it turned out) from being drugged, his business was booming with female clientele, excited by the opportunity to enjoy their drinks in a relatively safe space. Damon didn’t expect this no-frills bar to become the hotspot for Ladies Night, but that’s what happened and Jada had predicted it. 

He and the witch developed a working relationship that allowed her to run the place and flirt with as many girls as she liked. He could do the same, but they both knew he wasn’t taking anyone home. Jada explained that spirits told her that he used to be a vampire and that they could help each other, or at least that’s what he thought she said, but he was only half-listening at the time. 

Anyway, she turned out to be a great addition to his team, and, if he was totally honest, it was great having a new friend who was connected to the supernatural like he used to be. In fact, she reminded him of another witch he used to know. 

Keeping up with their reputation as a safe space, Jada actually spelled the glasses to change color if a drug was detected in them. Jada had gotten the idea from the drug testing nail polish she read about a few years ago. She also instituted their “women who love women”, “Men who love men”, Kink meet up, and “Poly and looking” nights. The busier they got, the work he had to do. He was keeping with Jada’s pace as she kept the place on the straight and narrow. And they were even getting awarded by the local domestic violence center for “Contributions to the Community.”

Despite all of the attention, Damon still tried to keep a low profile. He was still technically in hiding and sent Jada instead to get the award. He went to the hospital to surprise Elena. With her schedule and his, they hadn’t been able to spend much time together. He has been hoping to fix that for weeks, but this was his first break in a while, so he seized the opportunity to see his fiance with flowers in his hand. 

Giggling and clearly jealous attendings directed him to the break room on the third floor where Elena might be getting a snack or napping. He opened the door and there in the back corner was his lovely fiance, with her scrubs shirt on the floor as she passionately kissed the doctor in a lab coat against the counter. 

Damon couldn’t actually turn his human emotions off anymore, but he slowed breathing and managed a close approximation he walked in. 

“You know,” he said by way of announcing his presence. Elena and Doctor immediately broke apart, guilt written all over their faces. 

“I might not be a doctor, but I have a feeling that,” he said, circling his finger in their general direction. 

He pointed his finger at the scrub shirt on the floor, “And that, is unsanitary.”

“Damon, I can explain,” Elena started. 

“That’s Damon?” the Doctor asked.

“Oh, so you’ve heard about me. Elena, you should really start telling me about your boyfriends, I feel so guilty about not getting him anything.” 

Damon turned to the Doctor, “Get out.” 

“I don’t feel--”

“Richard, it’s okay,” Elena insisted. 

Richard walked by Damon, their eyes following each other has he made it to the exit. 

“Dick the Doctor?” Damon asked as soon as Richard left, “Really, Elena.” 

Elena let out a breath and reached down to grab her scrub shirt and put it on. 

Damon continued, “Let me guess. Tall, dark, handsome with just a hint of danger to keep things exciting.” 

“Damon, don’t do this.” 

“Do what? It’s not my fault you have a type.” 

“It’s not a type. Okay. It--”

“Just happened? Don’t give me that, Elena. I was your “just happened”, remember. That means you’ve been thinking about it, dreaming about it and teasing just around the edges for months.”

“And what about you and Jada?” 

“Jada?” 

“She’s always around. Touching you. You two practically have your own language.”

“She manages the bar, is gayer than a Xena marathon and we’re not fighting about that. This is about you, in the break room, making out with Dr. McDouchey.”

“You’re never home,” 

“Neither are you. Why do you think got you these stupid flowers?!” Damon yelled, throwing the bouquet on the couch. 

“Keep your voice down,” Elena pressed 

“Why?”

“I’m at work.” 

“Really? Because I thought you were on the counter.”

“This isn’t about me and Richard.” 

“How is it not about you jamming your tongue down another man’s throat?” 

Elena rubbed her hands across her face, “Oh my God, you are such a child.”

“I’m not the one breaking vows here.” 

“We haven’t made any vows yet.” 

Elena and Damon let that sentence settle in between them like a weight. 

“Is that what this is about?” Damon asked, “You don’t want to marry me?” 

“I didn’t say that.” 

“I think you did.” 

“Damon, I’m stressed. Stressed and busy and your entire focus is the bar. You’re either booking an event, answering emails, talking to Jada at all hours, getting a commission from the Mayor. I’m—”

“Jealous?” 

“What?” 

“You’re jealous… of my job?” 

Elena shook her head, “No.”

“The job that you imagined for me. You’re mad that I’m good at it?” 

“No, I just thought we’d been together more, but you’re in your space, I’m in mine. We’re like ships in the night. I don’t even know who we are anymore.” 

Dan tilted his head at her, “And where does Richard fit into all of this?”

“He doesn’t.” 

“Have you fucked him?” 

Elena didn’t respond. The silence stretched until it was painful. 

“Then there’s nothing more to say. You can keep the apartment. My stuff will be out before your shift is over,” he said and left the breakroom.


	6. In the Grass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saving her boss from himself was never in Jada's job description.

Jada watched the numbers on the elevator fly by as she made her way to the 12th floor. She was pretty confident that she had never, in her entire life, put this much effort into finding a man. But her boss has been MIA for a week and while she could keep The Falls running, too many people had started asking questions. She had tried to corner Elena, but she was evasive and seemed to be avoiding her. So one tracking spell and an educated guess later, she found herself going to the hotel room of Stefan Camaro, aka Damon’s not-so-original alias. 

Jada had to hand Damon though, the penthouse suite of a swanky hotel was a pretty nice place to wallow. Double checking her notes, she knocked on room 1202. After three knocks, she leaned against the door. 

Through the door, she heard the drums and wailing guitar of a song she couldn’t quite make out. Clearly a breakup song, and for Damon that could mean anything from Taylor Swift to The Ramones. 

“Damon!” she called out, “Open up. It’s Jada.” 

Silence. 

He might be passed out of the floor for all she knew. She waved her hand over the electric lock, muttering a spell. The indicator light went from red to green. Turning the knob, she entered the suite. Lavish was an understatement, but Jada couldn’t take in the opulence as Damon’s slurred and off-key rendition of “Grenade” by Bruno Mars assaulted her ears. 

Swinging a bottle of bourbon, Damon danced naked in front of the floor to ceiling windows.

“Oh my God!” Jada shouted as she averted her eyes from her boss’s bare ass. Damon swung around. 

“Jada!” he proclaimed, surprisingly cheerful. He opened his arms for a hug. 

“Pants!” she shouted, “Or something! Now!”

Damon took a swig from his bottle, “This is my room. Telling me what to do in my room is just rude.”

Jada snorted, “Rude is your junk in my eyes.” 

“I didn’t ask you to visit.”

“Clothes or I take the bourbon.”

Damon grumbled and walked into the bedroom. Jada looked around and finally took in the piles of empty bottles that seemed scattered at random in the suite. Damon was primarily a bourbon man, but for this particular bender, it looked like anything goes. She knew spiral when she saw one. 

Damon sauntered out in low slung jeans and an open plaid button down. He stood in front of Jada and gave her an exaggerated bow. 

“Does this please her witchiness?”

Jada rolled her eyes, “Save the theater for someone who cares.” 

Damon put his hands over his heart, “I’m hurt.” 

“What the fuck happened to you?” 

Damon snorted, “I’m fine.” 

Jada narrowed her eyes at him. 

“Seriously, I am. I just needed some ‘me’ time.” 

“‘Me’ time?” Jada questioned. 

Damon’s eyes drifted to the ceiling, “Just reevaluating my life. What’s left of it anyway.” 

He walked over to the window and looked over the city streets. 

“How do you humans do it? Knowing you're going to die? It just makes everything seem so pointless.”

He turned back to Jada, “No matter what you do. How powerful you get. How happy you are. You are going to die.” 

“Everything dies, Damon. What’s your point?” 

“For over 150 years, I’ve never really thought about my own death. Bringing death to others, murder, snapping necks, pulling out hearts, sure. But my death? Mine. It doesn’t make sense.” 

Jada folded her arms. 

“And what makes you so special?” 

Damon took another swig and pointed at her. 

“Good question,” he replied and walked into the kitchen, “10 years ago, I would have said good looks, effortless charm, hypnotizing blue eyes and nice cock.”

Damon opened the cabinet and pulled out a bag of flour. 

“I mean I was a vampire,” he continued and grabbed a bowl, “But there’s nothing special about being a vampire.” 

Jada walked up the kitchen island, curious, “I thought you loved being a vampire.” 

He looked Jada, his eyes suddenly sober and cold, “I learned to enjoy it. I learned to accept it. But, love… Love. Fuck Love.” 

He turned and opened the refrigerator. 

“So this is about Elena,” Jada said. 

Damon violently grabbed the milk and eggs and put it on the table. 

“Elena. Elena. Elena. It’s always about Elena,” he practically spat. 

He opened the milk and poured, “Precious, pretty, perfect Elena.” 

“You’re alliterative when you’re angry, did you know that?” Jada asked. 

He ignored her, took an egg and cracked with one hand.

He looked up at Jada, “Do you know how many times I’ve saved her life?” 

“I--” 

“Neither do I. I’ve lost count.” 

“Aaaa…” 

“That’s not including all the shit I went through for Katherine.” 

“Katherine?” 

“Yeah, but they’re not the same person,” Damon paused, “But maybe they are. Maybe they really are.” 

“Damon, you’re not making sense.”

“No, this is clarity,” he said and took a swig of the bourbon. And then, shook his head at the burn. Grabbing a mixing spoon, he started to stir his mixture with vigor. 

“This is Katherine,” he said, stirring,“She stirs things up, mixing it altogether until you don’t even know who you are anymore.”

He turned on the stove and watched the fire come to life. He placed his plan over the stove and oiled it. He gestured to the flame. 

“That’s Elena. She seems calm and peaceful and you just want to cozy up to her. Little do we know…” he dropped off with dramatic flair and began to pour the mix on the pan. 

“She’s burning you from the inside out. Changing you again into who she wants you to be.”

He watched the batter expand from the spot where he poured, trying to run until the heat stopped it and made it a solid. He took the spatula and flipped over the pancake. 

“And now,” he said, putting the pancakes on a plate, “Now you’ll never be the same again. Not a powder or a liquid, just food for the next predator.” 

He placed the plate in front of Jada. Jada turned questioning eyes on him, “Elena dumped you?”

“She cheated on me,” Damon laughed without humor, “Just like she cheated on my brother. With me.” 

“Wow.” 

“Yeah, that’s story’s all kinds of interesting.”

“And your brother--” 

“He’s dead,” Damon said swiftly, cutting her off.

“Oh” Jada asked. 

Damon took his fork and jammed it into a piece of pancake.

“He was the good brother, you know. Kind, Trustworthy. Vampire Boy Scout if there ever was one.”

Damon continued, “I seduced Elena. Wore her down with my sexiness.” 

Jada cocked her head at him, “Are you sure that’s what happened?” 

“You don’t get it. I’m the bad brother. The heartless one. The seducer. The snake in the grass,” he said and played with his tongue on the last word. 

“And now that you’re good, your good is good enough?’ 

“So it would seem,” he said and stuffed his face with a pancake. 

“I don’t know what you need more, therapy or your mojo.” 

Damon laughed, “You think I lost my mojo.” 

“I think you gave it away. That's what happens when we’re in love. But you kind of remind me of after I came into my magic. I needed to leave everything behind and start new. I need a guide.” 

“I’m over 150 years old. I’m fine and I don’t need a Obi-Wan”

Jada let out a short laugh, “No, I think you need a Yoda.” 

“Yoda?” he questioned. 

Jada nodded. Damon took another bite of his pancake and thought. Maybe some outside perspective wouldn't be such a bad idea and he did need to get out of the city.

“There may be one guy…”


	7. In the Fold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie reveals her powers to the Charmed Ones by icing the windows. By offering her assistance, she thinks she's ready for whatever happens next, but these witches are unlike any she's ever met before with a history she could have never imagined.

Mel, Maggie, and Macy jumped up from their seats and clustered together as the ice from Bonnie’s magic solidified against the glass. 

“Who are you?” Mel demanded. 

Bonnie put her hands up, “Hey. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” 

Maggie flicked out her slender metal baton with a click. 

“Did Parker send you?” she warned.

“What?” 

Macy turned her hand, letting the flames ignite in her palm, “Answer the question, Bonnie.” 

“I’m a witch, just like you three,” she said. 

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Mel asked. 

Bonnie shrugged, “You don’t write preternatural gifts on a job application.” 

Mel’s eyes darted to Macy, considering. Macy narrowed her eyes at her. 

“Why tell us now?” Macy asked. 

“I want to help,” Bonnie replied. 

“Help?” 

“I’ve been watching you all, in a totally not creepy way,” she rushed and continued, “You’re exhausted. Whatever you three are fighting, it’s wearing you down.” 

“How do you know we’re fighting something?” Maggie asked. 

“I’ve battled quite a few supernatural forces back home. Even stopped the Fires of Hell once. I know what magic fatigue looks like. That ache in your bones that doesn’t go away and makes you twenty years older,” Bonnie explained. 

The Charmed Ones looked at each other and slowly relaxed with Macy extinguishing the flame and Maggie collapsing her baton.

“We know what you're talking about, but our whitelighter heals us so it’s not that bad.” 

“What’s a whitelighter?” Bonnie asked. 

Just then there was a knock at the door. Harry’s voice carried into the small shop. 

“Hey. Is everything okay in there?” 

Macy shouted back, “It’s fine, Harry. Come in.” 

Harry cautiously made his way inside, keeping his eyes on Bonnie. 

“What’s going on here?” he asked. 

“Bonnie’s a witch,” Maggie chirped happily.  
Bonnie’s eyes darted back to Maggie, shocked that she would reveal a secret so casually. Off her look, Maggie shrugged back. 

“What? He’s our whitelighter.” 

“What doesn’t that mean exactly? Are you a warlock?” she asked. 

“No,” Harry replied, slightly offended “Whitelighter. Guardian. Healer. Teacher. Didn’t you get a whitelighter when you came into your powers?”

“No. It was just me… well Me and my Grams.”

“Who was your grandmother?” Harry asked. 

“Sheila Bennett.” 

“Oh my word, you’re a Bennett witch.” 

Bonnie smiled, “The last.” 

“Harry?” Maggie questioned, wondering what he knew. 

Still focused on Bonnie, Harry asked, “Mystic Falls?”

Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief, “Yeah.” 

Harry smiled and turned to the sisters, “This is a good ally.” 

“What’s a Bennett witch?” Mel asked. 

“My family line,” Bonnie started, “I come from a line of witches that descend from Salem and escaped the trails.” 

“Survived, actually,” Harry interjected, “Not escaped.” 

Bonnie looked at him, confused. 

“There’s a lot of information about your family in the Elders Archives. You should see it.” 

“Harry,” Maggie started through gritted teeth, “You don’t just dish out invitations to our top-secret lair. It’s not a frat party.” 

“She needs our help,” Harry insisted. 

“I thought Bonnie was going to help us,” Mel reminded everyone. 

“Wait!” Macy said and moved in between her sisters and Bonnie, “Bonnie’s right” 

“Mace!” 

“We have been tired. And the fight is not getting any easier. We could use some help.” 

“She lied to us. How do we know she’s not a spy or shapeshifter or something?” Mel asked. 

“She didn’t have to reveal herself to us, Mel. And all she’s done since she’s been here is bring in new business and heal wounds. I think we should give her a shot.” 

Mel glanced at Maggie. She shrugged. 

“They have a point,” Maggie agreed. 

Mel looked at her current employee in the eye, “The minute I think you are a danger to me or my sisters, we’re wiping your memory and dropping you in the middle of nowhere. Agreed?” 

Given that Bonnie had lived most of her life in what she considered the “middle of nowhere” and other various dimensions, the threat didn’t quite land as it should have, however, she nodded. 

“Agreed.”  
\------------------

Bonnie’s eyes flitted through the rows and rows of books in The Charmed Ones' Command Center. Their materials collection was incredible with various ingredients from all over the world and some she had never heard of. This place, hidden in the basement of Safe Space, just hummed with magic in its very walls. 

“You weren’t kidding when you said you had archives,” she said to the group behind her. 

Harry smiled and stepped forward, “It goes back a few hundred years.” 

He mentally ran his finger along the book edges and stopped, “Here.” 

He pulled out a leather-bound book with tattered edges. 

“What’s this?” Macy asked. Harry looked at her. 

“The coven’s records from the 1692 Witch trials. The Burning Times. They wrote the name of each witch that was lost in this book as well as some of the innocents that were accused of being witches. Tabitha Mores was the primary keeper of the records and also used it as a journal of sorts,” 

“And she wrote about my family?” Bonnie asked. 

Harry nodded, “Here.” 

Bonnie read out loud - 

_For her part in inciting The Burning Times upon us, Tituba, sorceress and property of Samuel Parris, will be permanently removed from the coven. Further, despite her talent and power, the protections of the order shall not be visited upon her or her descendants. As her magic is foreign and volatile, we hope that without the support of the order, that her magic will die out. We have noted that Tituba’s power seems to come from inside of her instead of pulling from the Earth. If she is forced to overexert herself, she may expire before her trial begins. We will endeavor to exacerbate this process to avoid detection by the Witchhunter Ministry._

“They tried to get her to kill herself??!!” Mel asked. 

“In a word,” Harry breathed out, “Definitely not the Elders finest order” 

Maggie snorted, “They have a lot of those.” 

“Just so,” Harry said and looked at Bonnie, “But Tituba escaped. Some thought she was trying to make her way back to Barbados, but seventy years later, the order became aware of a strong witch family in North Virginia. Though they did make the connection back to Tituba’s line, but then they had bigger problems and largely left the Bennetts alone.” 

“Wow,” Bonnie said, stepping away from the book and beginning to pace, “Just wow.”

Macy watched as the new revelations settled in Bonnie’s mind. She knew, somewhat, about what she felt. 

“Do you still want to help us?” Macy asked. 

Bonnie looked up, “Why wouldn’t I?” 

Mel walked up beside her sister, “We do basically represent the organization that tried to destroy your family.” 

“That was nearly 400 years ago.” 

“Still. Tituba never got justice. She was a slave, wrongly accused and abandoned by the witches who should have protected her. You’ve got every right to walk out.” 

Bonnie looked at Mel, Maggie, Macy, and Harry and smiled, “Thank you.” 

“What?” Maggie asked. 

“You’re right, but it’s my choice. You three, you help people. I know it. And that’s what my Grams taught me witchcraft was truly about, helping others and protecting the defenseless. Tituba was wronged by this old order, but maybe, together, we can make it right.” 

Suddenly, red lights flashed in the command center. 

“What’s that?” Bonnie asked as The Charmed Ones flew into action. 

“The witchboard,” Mel said, running to the large map that took up most of the wall. As the board zoomed in on the glowing red light, the witches saw Salem, Massachusetts come into view. 

“Salem? Again?” Harry asked. 

“Do you think it’s Ava?” Maggie questioned. 

“Only one way to find out,” Macy said and pressed the button opening the portal. 

“Whoa!” Bonnie exclaimed, looking at the giant portal that just appeared. 

Maggie smiled up at her, “Beats the airline.” 

Bonnie took a deep breath, still a little dazed, “Okay. Let’s go.”

Magge took Bonnie’s hand, “We’ll be with you the whole time.” 

Bonnie smiled back at her and they walked through the portal together. Macy, Harry, and Mel started for the portal, but Mel froze in mid-stride. Macy looked back at her. 

“What is it?” 

"Bonnie said that she was the last Bennett witch, right?"

"Yeah."

“But Ava,” Mel said softly, in thought, and then she looked at them, “She's a Bennett too... and so is the baby.”


	8. Disturbance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Charmed Ones, Harry and Bonnie return to Salem, but it's not quite how they left it.

Silence. 

It was the first thing that Bonnie noticed when she stepped through the portal into the chill, nighttime air of Salem, Massachusetts. She turned to Maggie to see if she had sensed something, but Maggie’s eyes had grown distant and unfocused.

“Maggie?” Bonnie asked. 

Maggie walked around in a small circle, her face white as a sheet. 

“What happened here?” she asked herself. 

Bonnie stared after her just as Mel, Macy and Harry came through the portal. 

“Where is it? I can’t feel it,” Maggie continued to mutter. 

After glancing at Macy and Harry, Mel stepped up to her sister. 

“Can’t feel what, Mags?” 

Maggie turned to Mel, a level of desperation in her eyes. 

“Magic. I can’t sense it. This place was teeming with magic and now there’s nothing.”

Maggie turned to her whitelighter, “Harry?” 

“I don’t know. Magic doesn’t just vanish like this. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“I have,” Bonnie declared. All four of them turned to her. 

“It’s a spell,” she said, but it didn’t feel quite like the spell that she remembered. She looked at a baseball lying in the grass of a nearby yard. She called it and it flew into her hand. 

“Huh,” she said, looking at the ball. 

Suddenly, they heard tires screech as a black van sped down the suburban side street. 

“EMILY!” shouted an agonized voice as the van made its escape. 

Looking up, they saw Ava chasing it down as fast as her legs could carry her. Mel shot out her hand to freeze time around the truck. It slowed down, but still inched forward, fighting her magic. 

“Mel?” Macy asked, seeing the truck still make its way down the road. 

“I don’t know. It’s fighting me somehow,” she said through gritted teeth. 

Macy looked at Bonnie, “Telekinesis?” 

Bonnie nodded. 

Together, they tried to reach out and grab the truck with their powers. Truck slowed some more, but didn’t come to a complete stop. 

“Maggie. Harry,” Macy said.

“On it,” Maggie said and took off at a sprint. Harry orbbed right beside the truck as it continued to lumber its way forward. Shotgun in hand, a man leaned out of the passenger window and took a shot at Harry. 

He hit the ground and ran to a behind a nearby tree. 

Ava, undeterred by the gunshots, kept running. The gunman leveled his weapon at her. 

“No!” Harry shouted and orbbed to her, just in time for the bullet to sink into back. 

“Harry!” Maggie screamed, running to the whitelighter as he crumpled to the ground.

“Harry!” Mel and Macy yelled in response, seeing Harry fall on the pavement. 

“Hold the truck,” Bonnie insisted. Macy and Mel spared an anagonized glance at each other. With an almost imperceptible nod, they channeled their fear and anger into their magic, trying to hold the truck back. 

And then the truck stopped. Everyone froze, preparing for the fight that they knew as coming. Suddenly, a shockwave of green light pulsed from the van, knocking all of the witches on the floor as it sped away.   
\-------

Maggie blinked her eyes open. Everything hurt as she lifted her body up off the pavement. Looking around, she saw Harry, lying face down in the street with his shirt soaking in blood. 

“Oh my God,” she exclaimed and crawled over to him. 

“Harry. Harry! Wake up,” she insisted, “You have to heal yourself.” 

Scared to touch him, Maggie looked up to see her sisters and Bonnie running toward them. 

“He won’t wake up!” she said as they neared them. Macy knelt down, tears filling her eyes as she tried to assess the situation. 

“He should be healing anyway. Whether or not he’s awake,” she said, but looking at his prone form, it was clear that wasn’t happening. Mel turned to Bonnie. 

“Can you heal?” 

Bonnie sadly shook her head, “Not on my own. I need the proper herbs.” 

“Why is he healing?” Maggie asked, terror creeping into her vision. 

“It was the pulse,” groaned Ava's voice as she lifted herself up too, “It neutralized active magic. Even his.” 

Ava made her way to Harry. Her eyes quickly scanned his body. She lifted up his shirt, and after taking off her own long, cotton shirt and crumpling it into a ball, she pressed it against his wound. She looked up at Macy. 

“Can you hold this?” 

Macy nodded and put her hands on the bundle. 

“Keep up the pressure,” Ava added, stood up and took out her cell phone. 

“What’s going on?” Mel asked. 

“I promise I’ll explain as soon as Harry’s okay,” Ava promised and then she heard the phone connect. 

“Hello,” said a low voice. 

“Aidan, Thank God.”

“Ava? Are you okay?” he asked. 

“No. I need you to come get me and a few friends.” 

“Friends?!” 

“I don’t have time to explain. I just need you, a truck,” Ava looked at the man lying on the floor who saved her life, “And everything we need to treat a gunshot wound.” 

“On my way,” he said and disconnected. Ava looked at the group who had clearly come to protect her. 

“I’m sorry,” she said and then, calling on her years as a nurse at Suffolk Hospital, started to direct everyone to make Harry as comfortable as possible as they waited for help.


	9. Undercurrent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan and Damon go to Salem.

Sally watched Aidan as he packed his scrubs into a duffle bag. 

“I thought you weren’t working tonight,” she said. 

“I’m not,” he replied quickly and grabbed his jacket. Sally moved in front of him. 

“Then what are you doing?” 

“I don’t have time for this.”

“Vampire stuff?” she asked. 

Aidan rolled her eyes at her, “I need to go.” 

“Look, each time they get their claws in you, you end up blood drunk, depressed and/or hating yourself in the morning,” she pressed. 

“Sounds like my kind of Friday night,” Damon’s voice said from the stairs. 

Both Aidan and Sally turned to him. Damon raised an eyebrow, “You want company?” 

Aidan let out a deep sigh, “It’s not like that. I have a friend who needs help. Someone she knows was shot.” 

Sally let out a gasp. 

“Let the cops handle it,” Damon replied dryly, “Unless roadkill is your thing. I don’t judge.” 

Sally snickered at Damon in disgust, “Ew, Damon, just ew.” 

“It’s one of us,” Aidan continued, “A supernatural. Ava’s a witch. She wouldn’t have called me for a human.” 

Damon made his way down the steps, “You’re in bed with witches now.” 

“He’s not in bed with anyone,” Sally said and looked up at Aidan, “He’s helping a friend.” 

Aidan smiled at her and gentled his tone, “I do need to go.” 

She nodded and pulled his jacket closed as if to keep him warm. She hugged him tightly and looked him in the eye, “Be safe out there, ok?”

Aidan smiled at her, “Always.” 

Damon let out a long annoyed groan, “He’s not going war.”

Sally marched through the living room to the kitchen with her middle finger raised at Damon. As soon as she was out of earshot, Damon caught up to Aidan at the door. 

“What’s the plan?” he asked. Aidan stared at him. 

“You do realize this is _her_ house.”

“Trust me, I’m doing us both a favor by getting on her nerves,” he replied, cryptically. 

“What?” 

“Plan?” 

“We need an ambulance. Salem’s about a 30-minute drive from here, 15 if you’ve got flashing lights.” 

“Salem? Witch HQ for the past 400 years??!!” 

Aidan snickered, “You don’t have to come if you're scared.”

“I’m not scared. Why would I be scared,” Damon muttered. 

Aidan laughed, “Come on, we’ve got an ambulance to steal.” 

\---------------- 

Maggie and Mel ran back down the street from Ava’s house with fresh bandages and gauze for Harry’s wound. 

Bonnie and Macy kept the pressure on his wound through Ava’s shirt. 

“What else can we do,” Macy asked frantically. 

“Not much until Aidan get here,” Ava said and then spotted Mel and Maggie. They quickly give Ava her materials from home and an extra shirt. Dressed and with her materials in hand, Ava looked down, gently moving Macy and Bonnie out of way and assessed more the damage. 

“Okay, it looks like it missed the spine, that’s good. But from this angle, it might have hit a kidney,” she said. 

“What does that matter?” 

“Maggie,” both of her sisters exclaimed. 

“I’m serious. He should be able to heal himself. What’s up with our magic?” she asked. 

Ava ripped on the package of giant gauze pads and replied without looking up, “The Faction.” 

“They can’t--” 

“Put your hand there,” Ava said pointing to one side of the pad that pressed against Harry’s skin. She looked at Bonnie. 

“You, there,” she directed. 

Grabbing the gauze tape, she quickly taped the gauze to Harry’s body. 

“You can let go,” she said to both women, “It’s up to him now.” 

Macy slowly looked up at Ava. She had been taking in all the signs since he had crumpled to the ground. 

“Is he human?” she asked. 

Ava looked into her eyes and saw a familiar pain, “For now. But I think I’ll wear off in a few hours.” 

Mel was about to start asking more questions, but the wail of an ambulance pierced the night. Dressed in a paramedic uniform and scrubs respectively, Damon and Aiden stopped the ambulance right next to the women and their patient. Aidan hopped out of the passenger seat and made his way over the group. Ava looked at the ambulance. 

“Don’t I even want to know?” she asked.

“Later,” he replied and looked at the prone man on the floor. 

“He’s been unconscious the whole time, but stable. Get the gurney,” she said. Aidan nodded and joined Damon in the back of the ambulance as they pulled the gurney out. The paramedic’s hat obscured Damon’s eyes in the dark as they brought it around. 

Ava positioned everyone around Harry to lift him up the gurney. 

“Okay, ladies, we’re going to lift him up together. Keep him balanced and he’ll be good to go. 1, 2, 3, lift!” 

With grunts, strained muscles and shifting feet, they safely got Harry on the gurney. Damon took in the scene around him with interest. 

“Must be some friend,” he muttered softly. 

Bonnie’s body froze and turned to the paramedic that has been hidden by shadow from her sight. 

“What did you say?” she asked. 

Damon lifted his head up the voice. 

“I said..,” Damon started and froze. 

In fact, everything froze as far as they were concerned. Bonnie wasn’t sure which emotions she felt first. Joy, anger, confusion. It was like Damon was painted in a kaleidoscope of emotions and she couldn’t tell one from the other. Unlike every other time they had been near each other, she couldn’t make herself speak, reaction, move forward or away. 

And then his expression started to change from shock to something else. She thought she would see that trademark, self-satisfied smirk cross his face, but she should have known better. Damon never does what others expect of him. Instead, she saw a wide, bright smile she had only ever seen once when she returned from the Prison World and she had leaped into his arms like their friendship, relationship, connection, whatever you want to call it, was the most precious thing on Earth. She loved that smile and seeing again, despite the circumstances, almost made her cry. 

“Hi Bon.”


	10. Ride Along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Charmed Ones learn what's going on in Salem

Ava snapped her fingers in front of Damon and his dopey grin, “Hey, Lover boy, we’ve got to go.” 

Damon blinked out of his Bonnie-induced stupor, “Right.” 

He grabbed the other side of the gurney and pushed it up the ramp to the back of the ambulance. Aidan was already inside waiting for their patient. Damon climbed back out, making his way to driver’s side. Ava looked at the Charmed Ones. 

“You three can sit in the back with me and Aidan,” she said and then pointed to Bonnie, “You ride shotgun.” 

None of the younger witches were used to taking orders, but Ava’s voice brokered no argument. It was like authority was simply in her very bearing. 

Soon, they were on the road, arranged just as Ava ordered. Ava and Aidan had hooked Harry up to the equipment monitoring Harry’s breathing and heart rate. Mel looked from Harry to the heart monitor and back again.

“Aren’t you going to do anything else?” she insisted. 

Ava shook her head sadly as she stood across from them. 

“Not on these roads. Getting that bullet out requires a sure hand. We’ll take care of it when we get to his house,” she says. 

Maggie’s face dropped, “We’re not going to the hospital?”

Macy grabbed Maggie’s hand, attempting to be reassuring, “Maggie, we can’t.” 

“So we’re going to cut Harry up in someone’s living room?” 

Ava leaned in to Maggie.

“Aidan and I are professionals. We’re not going to butch your whitelighter, especially after he saved my life,” she finished with conviction. 

Maggie quieted. Macy looked up. 

“You said you were going to explain?” 

Ava took a deep breath. 

“A few days ago, there was a massive blackout in Salem. Everyone felt this wave run through them that knocked out all electronics and plugged the city into darkness.” 

Mel glanced quickly at her sisters, “Why didn’t we hear about this?” 

“But cause it only lasted fifteen minutes, and unless you were a supernatural, you didn’t notice that anything had changed. It was just a freak accident.” 

“What happened?” Macy asked. 

“No human who was hit by that wave can use magic anymore and all magic beings, from vampires to pixies, that were hit, all turned human.”

“That’s impossible,” Aidan said. 

Ava glanced at him, “The running theory is that it’s some kind of Electromagnetic Pulse that neutralizes magical energy. From what we can tell, the effects didn’t go outside Salem’s city limits.”

Macy narrowed her eyes at her, “And you think that pulse is what hit us? That’s why Harry’s not healing.” 

Ava nodded at her, “Yea, but it was not as powerful as what I felt last week. That’s why I think he’ll recover. It’ll just take time.” 

“Why were you chasing after the van?” Mel asked. 

For the first time since they arrived, Ava choked. Her air of confidence and authority cracked, just a bit, before she could speak. 

“They took her. They took Emily,” Ava said, her voice trembling with anger. 

“My God,” Macy said. 

“She was with her father last week. They went to the sea for a few days to visit her grandmother. He came back and he wanted to stay, but this Pulse or whatever it is, is dangerous to all supernaturals. As their leader, he had to go warn his people. I thought the damage had been done and that we relatively were safe,” she said, reliving her thoughts. 

“I swear I only went down the kitchen to make myself some tea while she slept. And then I heard her wailing on the baby monitor and tires speeding away--” 

“Hey. Hey!” Aidan said suddenly, grasping her hands. He looked her in the eyes, “None of this is your fault.” 

Ava began to shake, the compartment where she had boxed her fear for the past hour in change was finally breaking. 

“I just--” 

“We’ll get her back.” Mel insisted gently, “Powers or no powers. No one’s getting away with this.” 

The intercom that ran from the driver and passenger seats to the back of the ambulance crackled to life. The electronic version of Damon’s voice came over the speaker. 

“Ditto,” he said and let go of the button that turned on the intercom. 

He turned to Bonnie and smirked, “Just like old times.”


	11. Ride Along part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon and Bonnie finally catch up.

Bonnie sincerely had no clue what to make of this situation. What the hell was Damon doing here? He should be in the suburbs living that long, happy, human life with Elena not driving an ambulance that she was sure was stolen filled with a mishmash of supernatural entities. It was so familiar, she tempted to check her drivers licence to make sure she hadn’t somehow turned 19 again and they were going after Klaus in the latest “Someone wants to kill Elena” adventure. Speaking of which, she turned to Damon. 

“What are you doing here?” she asked incredulously. 

Damon’s eyes never left the road as he imitated Boonie’s half of the conversation, “Hi Damon, how are you? You’re lookin’ good.” 

He turned to her, “Hey Bon, Glad you noticed. I got a new haircut.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes and dropped her head on the headrest, “Still an asshole.” 

Damon’s eyes returned to the road with a tilt of his head, “Never claimed to be anything but.” 

With identical timing, they chuckled at the same time and laughed out, “Butt.”

They glanced quickly at each other and looked away. Their shared, slightly juvenile sense of humor is what got their unexpected friendship to build in the first place. In the Prison World, Damon had slowly discovered that under the uber mature, judgmental and mortalistic exterior, Bonnie was a class clown. With enough bourbon, not only was she snarkier, her verbal barbs more pointed without a filter. She also had an eye for her own form of mischievous justice. She had told him stories of growing up with Elena and Caroline as they walked through their deserted town. He was not surprised to find out that despite being the shortest, she was always the protector of the trio, finding new ways to outsmart their elementary and middle school enemies. But Bonnie was smart about it too, getting her revenge without getting caught. It was one of the many things he had grown to admire about her during their time together. 

Stealing glances at her, Damon subtly took in the changes in her appearance. He noticed her hair first, blown out into afro, it looked soft and full and somehow like a crown or halo that let everyone know that she was a queen. She filled out a bit with newly defined muscle enhancing the curves of her body. Like any person with eyes, he has always known that Bonnie was gorgeous, but without the single-mindedness that defined his life in Mystic Falls (as well as the occasional murder), he could really take the time to observe her. Warm brown skin, full lips, a nose that scrunched adorably when she smelled something funny and the most expressive green eyes he had ever seen in his entire life. 

In the past, looking at her was like something in an art gallery or museum, beautiful, but untouchable. Originally, she had been untouchable because even when she was frightened of him, she was too smart to fall for his shit. Then she was the witch who wanted nothing to do with him and he really couldn’t blame her for that. Like she said, he was… maybe still is, an asshole, and a formerly homicidal one at that. He also hadn’t actually put anything besides the most basic effort to get her to tolerate him. She wasn’t his primary goal, so her not-killing him or aneurysming him to his knees was enough.

But when they came back from the Prison World, everything changed. Suddenly, she wasn’t just Elena’s friend, she was his too. He trusted her, had told her things he had never said to Stefan, Elena or even Alaric. Bonnie had become more untouchable because she had touched him. Different from the potent mixture of love, lust and obsession that he had with Elena, his connection to Bonnie had been built slowly. So slowly that he didn’t realize how strong his feelings were until he was traveling the country with a stuffed bear desperate to bring her back. Bonnie had carved out a nice little section for herself in what was left of his heart. 

Back then, he knew that whatever he had with Bonnie was as strong as it was fragile. Unlike Elena, fucking up with Bonnie was never really option. Her forgiveness was not nearly as easy to earn, just like her trust, her respect and her friendship. His relationship with Bon took work and, without sex and seduction as availabe substitutes for intimacy, he had to actually communicate and be emotionally available in a way he never had before. And that made her even more untouchable than ever. 

He glanced at her again. They didn’t even have that bond anymore. It ached, somewhere behind his sternum, that that connection had been severed. The truth was that after he and Elena had moved to Portland, outside of his brother, he didn’t really miss much about his old life. He had said his goodbyes and was ready to move onto the next chapter. But he had never actually said goodbye to his favorite witch, his Bon-Bon. She never gave him a chance. Just a ring and a note and she was gone. Sitting beside her, at the beginning of their first supernatural mission in years, it felt familiar and completely different all the same time. He was human, she apparently had new friends and Elena was just a memory in the rearview mirror for both of them. It was a brand new world. 

“So,” Doman started, “Who are your friends?” 

“Where’s Elena?” she asked quickly. 

“That’s really where you want to open this conversation?” he questioned. 

Bonnie snorted, “She’s been the center of all our conversations, Damon. So yeah.” 

“Maybe we should change that,” he muttered. 

“What?” 

“Elena’s back in Portland. Safe. Not dead or dying. And no one is after her,” he reported like he was describing the weather, “Happy?” 

“Then why are you here?’ 

“I have a thing for New England summers,” he deflected. 

“Damon!” 

“She cheated on me, okay? I went to surprise her at the hospital and there she was screwing Dr. McDouchey next to the instant coffee.” 

“Wow.” 

Damon let a sarcastic smile cross his face, “Yeeeah. So long story short. We’ve not together. Never got married. And Delena is no longer a thing. How are things in your world?” 

Bonnie swallowed, taking a minute to process the bomb that just landed in her lap. Elena cheated on Damon. It seemed impossible. Elena and Damon were supposed to be that epic love story for the ages. The evidence that true love could survive death, demons and even the fires of hell. Part of her couldn’t fathom how Elena could have destroyed her relationship like that and another part of her thought it was inevitable. If she had to guess, she’d say Elena got bored. For all of her talk of wanting a normal life, the craziness of Mystic Falls gave Elena purpose. It made her feel important and special and Bonnie knew she was one of the key members of the “Elena is our princess” team. Going from being the special one to one of many had to be jarring, for Damon and Elena both, albeit for different reasons.  
Bonnie sighed. 

No matter what happened, she wished her friend of over 20 years the most joyous life possible. But she wished she didn’t have to break Damon’s heart to do it. She knew that most people would have expected Damon to be the guilty party in their relationship if they ever broke up, but Bonnie knew better. For all of Elena’s good qualities, she was never satisfied; hadn’t been since her parents passed and the Salvatore brothers came into their lives. And Damon,… Damon, once he gave you his heart, you had it forever, which was why he turned it off. And now he no longer could. She could practically feel the turmoil radiating off of him, even though centuries as a vampire made him better at hiding his emotions than most. 

“Things are different, Damon.”

“How?” he asked. 

Bonnie looked at him quizzically. Damon rolled his eyes. 

“You’ve got new friends and a life I know nothing about. I’m curious.” 

Bonnie huffed, “Since when are you curious about me without an agenda attached?” 

“I’ve always been curious about you, Bon. Why do you think I annoyed you so much?” 

“Because you can be an extremely selfish man with no respect for personal boundaries?” she countered. 

Damon paused, “True. But I’ve grown. And we’ve got about 10 minutes left before all hell breaks loose again. Tell me what you’ve been up to.” 

Bonnie looked at him again. There was warmth and kindness she saw in his blue eyes that she usually had only seen after Damon had three shots and told an embarrassing story about Stefan. She did miss him. In spite of everything, she found that she did want to connect with him again. Besides, human Damon was not vampire Damon. She wanted to know who he was now and maybe this was the way to start. 

“Have you ever heard of Hillman College…” she began.


	12. Beyond Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virginia, 1864  
> Emily, to Damon's surprise, is a lot more than what she seems.

“Have you ever heard of Hillman College?” Bonnie had asked before launching into a brief recap of what has happened to her since the last time he’d seen her. Damon took care to listen to her, but he couldn’t help the surge of old memories that came rushing back when he heard the name. 

Had he heard of Hillman College? He had helped to build it. 

_Virginia, 1864_

The sound of horse hoofs echoed through the forest in the late afternoon light. It would be dark soon and two riders would have to make camp. At first glance, the riders appeared to be two young men, one clearly of the aristocratic class of Virginia planters from his clothes and bearing. His curling black hair and sky blue eyes made him distinctive amongst his peers. The other young person, who was careful to bow their face whenever someone came too close, wore old, but useful attire and seemed to be an equally capable horseman despite the clear class difference. Both astride beautiful brown horses, they kept pace with each other as they made their way to their destination. 

The young aristocrat trotted next to his companion, “Are you sure you know where we're going?” 

Under the wide brimmed and worn leather hat, Emily turned her face toward Damon and snorted at him, “You didn’t have to come.” 

With her breast bound and in man’s clothes, Emily Bennett’s light complexion made it possible to appear like that a young boy made tan by too many hours in the sun as opposed to biology. With a slight exaggeration to her Virginia accent, she sounded like any number of poor young men who couldn’t fight in the war, but were looking for work in the countryside. She had been preparing for the day-long ride from Mystic Falls to the old fort turned Union camp for escaped slaves along the James River when Damon had come pounding on her door yesterday.

“Emily! EMILY!” he screamed, nearly waking the entire neighborhood of Liberty. Just on the outskirts of Mystic Falls, Liberty was a neighborhood made up of free Black people, who had either bought their freedom or had their free status passed down for at least 2 or 3 generations. Damon, more than usual, stuck out in this area, but driven by love, grief and just on the edge of madness, he didn’t care. Emily came to the door with her candle. Quickly assessing him, she let him into her modest home while her two daughters slept in the adjacent room. 

“It has been a fortnight,” he had said without preamble, “It’s time to let her out.” 

Emily observed the lovesick young man before her. Katherine had done a real number on the boy. Despite the fact that Emily counted Katherine had an ally, Emily knew who she really was inside, a parasite. Like all such creatures, she cared nothing for whomever she fed on, but focused on her own survival. As a soldier in the Confederacy, Damon was no innocent, but he was… naïve. Everyone in Mystic Falls knew that he was the slighted son, spurned and dismissed by his father from an early age for being too emotional. And with his mother gone, he was clearly the easiest target in the Salvatore family, the easiest way to get to Stefan, Katherine’s ultimate goal. 

Emily had no interest in Katherine’s mechanizations. While she spared some concern for the boys battered hearts and eternal souls, her primary interest was in the access that being Katherine’s handmaiden could provide her. No one thought twice of her being in the governor’s mansion or senator’s home if Katherine was there, which meant she could sneak information to and from the Union army about Confederate arms, resources and anything else she observed. Just like Emily caring nothing about Katherine’s love life, Katherine cared nothing about war. 400 years on Earth meant she had seen plenty of battles and lives lost. But Katherine could use a witch that would help her move through daylight and Emily could use a partner that she didn’t have to hide her magic from. What some might have seen as a friendship was merely a beneficial arrangement, the vampire aristocrat and the witch spy, what a pair they had made. 

“I can’t do that, Damon,” she said calmly. 

What she didn't mention was that she didn’t want to do that. For all their talk of civility, the vampires could become an unholy plague in Virginia, as the residents of Kentucky were finding out. Stories of a man-eating wolf making its way through the Appalachians had been whispered through towns throughout Virginia for the past month. No one would ever guess that the well-groomed son of Giuseppe Salvatore was massacring entire towns in the middle of his Ripper rampage. Emily had no idea what he was looking for, but hoped that someone would stop him soon. There were already enough wars to fight. 

Damon narrowed his eyes at her, “She is your mistress. You must.” 

“Must? Sir, I am beholden to no one. I mustn’t do anything,” she countered. 

Unleashing his new found vampiric speed, Damon flashed across the room and grabbed Emily by the throat. He lifted her up in the air with one hand. He let his canines drop and his eyes go black. 

“I won’t ask again,” Damon demanded. 

Emily choked and struggled against his hand. She hit his arm with her fists, trying to make him let go. Damon chuckled at her efforts. His arm stayed strong and Emily dangled like a fish on a line until she went limp in his hand. 

“Emily,” he said, confident that this was a ploy, but when she didn’t respond, he shook her a bit, “Emily.” 

She remained still and limp. His canines retracted as he panicked. He let her go and caught her in his arms before she fell to the ground. 

“Oh, God, please don’t be dead,” he whispered. 

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and he flew across the room. Suspended in mid air, just an inch away from the roof. Emily got up, her hand outstretched as she observed the vampire. 

“Lesson 1, young predator, never underestimate a witch,” she announced and slowly turned her hand, turning Damon upside down in the air. Emily saw him attempting to struggle, but her magic held him in place. Walking closer, she brought him down until his upside face was level with hers. 

“Do I make myself clear?”

Emily held Damon’s eyes knowing that pride, power and a lot of privilege was not going make it easy for Damon Salvatore to bend to the will of a negro woman, but he was planning on surviving the night, he had to know who was in charge. 

“Let me go!” he ordered, still struggling. 

Emily concentrated on him, mental pinching a critical blood vessel in his brain. 

“AAhh!” he screamed as pain pierced through his brain. 

“Do I make myself clear?” she repeated. 

“Yes!” he shouted back. 

She released him and let him fall to the ground in a heap. Gathering himself, he scrambled to his hands and knees, breathing heavily. He looked up at Emily as if truly seeing her for the first time. She towered over him, her power unmatched as she smirked over his crumpled form. 

“What are you?” he asked, heaving. 

Emily cocked her head at him before she settled on an answer, “Something that you’ll never understand.”


	13. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Nora met their new houseguests.

Dressed in blue and green scrubs respectively, Josh and Nora walked up the cracked Boston sidewalk toward home, barely able to keep their eyes open. Both finishing a 12-hour shift at the hospital, they looked in surprise, but not alarm at the quiet ambulance parked outside their door. 

“What do you--” Nora started. 

Josh gently lifted his hand as a signal for quiet.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it will greet us as soon as we open that door. So let's just enjoy the peace while we have it.”

Nora smiled at her boyfriend’s futile attempt at avoiding trouble. For a werewolf, he was such a homebody. Josh was such a study in contrast, but he also kept everyone grounded. 

“Okay,” she said, “Then kiss me.” 

“What?” 

“Let’s make the most of the quiet moments, right?” she said, cocking her head to the side. 

“Right,” Josh replied and kissed her joyfully. He rested his forehead against hers and smiled. 

“I’m so lucky to have you,” he whispered to her. Nora smiled back gently at her sappy boyfriend. He was truly her favorite person on the planet. 

“Come on,” she said and kissed him quickly, “Let's find out what the drama is this time.” 

Josh sighed dramatically as Nora pulled him along and up the stairs. Upon opening their front door, Josh didn’t see blood on the walls nor the sounds of a vampire orgy, which he considered a good sign. With two vampires in the house, he felt like either scenario was entirely possible. As he turned the corner into the living room, he saw Sally and three women, possibly sisters by the look of it and witches by the smell of it, he had never met before. 

“Hi, Sally. Friends of yours?” Josh asked. 

“No,” she replied, “They came with the ambulance.”

“Is everyone okay?” Nora asked, her medical training coming to the fore as she looked at the women in the living room. 

“Oh, fine. Fine,” Sally replied in a rush, “Save for the surgery going on downstairs.” 

“Surgery?!” Nora said. 

Sally raised her hands up in a calming gesture, ‘It’s nothing serious. They’re just removing a bullet.” 

“A bullet?!” Josh exclaimed, “Who the hell are these people, Sally?”

“Hey!” Macy yelled, calling all of the attention in the room to her. 

“I know that it’s weird having all these people in your house,” she continued calmly, “But my friend is fighting for his life downstairs, so if you could keep it down.” 

Maggie reached over and grabbed her sister’s hand, “He’s going to be okay.” 

Mel leaned over and rubbed Macy’s back, “Yeah. Ava and Aidan seemed like they really knew what they were doing.” 

Macy let out a soft sigh, “What about Damon?” 

“He’s an asshole,” Bonnie announced as she walked in carrying a tray of steaming hot teacups. 

“But,” she continued as she passed the cups around the room, “But he’s a good person to have in a tight spot. If Aidan can’t control himself around the blood, he’ll stake him without thinking twice.”  
Going off of Josh and Sally’s shocked faces, she amended, “Non-lethally, of course.”

John clapped his hands together, “Okay, can someone hit the rewind button and tell me what the hell is going on.”

\---------------------------

**1 hour later** 

Josh rubbed his temples, “Let me see if I have this straight. The Faction is a group of vanilla humans that have been kidnapping magical beings for what we assume are nefarious purposes.” 

“No one kidnaps people because they’re nice, Josh,” Sally interjected. 

“Just let me get my thoughts out,” Josh said, “Last week, they released some kind of weapon that neutralized all of the magic in Salem. And today, they took Ava’s super powerful mermaid daughter and hit you all with a small version of that same weapon.”

“Right,” Mel confirmed. 

“And as they were getting away, they shot your friend,” Josh finished and threw his head back on the seat he was in, “Wow.” 

“So, what do they want?” Nora asked, looking at the Charmed Ones. 

“We don’t know,” Maggie said, “But we’ve been on more rescue missions in the past two months than in the entire time we’ve been witches.” 

Bonnie shrugged, “To be fair, you haven’t been witches that long.” 

“Excuse me?!” Macy said, insulted. 

“I’m just saying. Evil plots, destructive magic, people trying to take power, it’s---” 

“Just like the good old days, Bon-Bon,” Damon announced, sauntering his way upstairs. 

“How’s Harry?” Macy asked, looking up at him. 

“Resting,” he replied, “Aidan and Ava got the bullet out and a nasty little fragment that was lodged in the muscle, but he should be fine. They’re cleaning up now.” 

Macy glanced at her sisters quickly. Maggie nodded at her and Mel smiled gently.

“Go,” Mel said to her. 

Macy got up to go to the basement. She nearly brushed by Damon, but paused, looking at him in the face. 

“Whatever you did,” she said looking into his sky-blue eyes, “Thank you.”

He swallowed and nodded at her in hesitant acceptance of her gratitude. She smiled and made her way past him. 

Damon walked deeper into the living room, “So we’ve got a bad guy, a damsel in distress, and town in need of saving. Gotta say, I miss this.” 

“A town? What town?” Nora asked. 

Damon spread his arms out wide, “The Olde Towne. Boston. I know you didn’t think they’d stop at Salem. Whatever they want, whatever they’re doing, they're playing the big game.” 

Damon looked at Maggie, “You said the kid’s half-mermaid, half-witch, right?” 

Maggie nodded. Damon turned to Bonnie. 

“And my dear, sweet little witch, what have we learned about hybrids?” Damon asked. Her eyes went wide. 

“FFfffuuccckkk,” she groaned out. 

“What are you going on about?” Josh asked. 

“Keep it down, wolfy. The grown-ups are talking.” 

Nora stood up, getting right in Damon’s face, “I don’t care who you are. You don’t talk to him like that.” 

Damon lifted a rakish smile in her direction, “Aww, that’s sweet. Two little pup-- AHH!” 

Damn squealed as he held his head, barely seeing straight from the blistering headache in his skull. He turned around and looked at Bonnie, pleasantly poised on the love seat as if she weren’t giving him the headache from hell. 

“I’ve gotten a lot stronger, Damon and there's no reason to be an ass to people letting you stay in their house,” she said calmly. 

Sally glanced from Damon to Bonnie and back again, “Can you teach me that?” 

Bonnie smiled and then released Damon. He kneeled down on the floor, recovering. Bonnie leaned next to him and whispered, “Don’t worry, I can take over now” she said. 

She looked up at that gathered group.

“All hybrids are pretty strong. Their magic flows from multiple sources which makes them extremely powerful. Ava’s baby is like a supercharged magical battery. Even more so since she’s growing. So if whatever they need is powered by magical energy, the baby is one of the biggest sources they could have,” Bonnie finished. 

Damon groaned, “I could have said that.” 

“Then don’t be rude next time,” Bonnie countered. 

Mel looked around, “Okay so we need to find the Faction, rescue the baby, and then--” 

“Blowing their shit up is always a good go-to plan,” Damon said, slowly getting the blood back into his brain. 

“Damon.” 

“Or Fire. Flames are great.” 

“Could we negotiate?” Maggie suggested. 

“With the humans that have been kidnapping and possibly torturing your people to make an anti-magic weapon? Yeah. Good luck.” Damon questioned with all of the sarcasm he could fit into that sentence. 

“How about this,” Josh said, addressing the room, “We're not going to figure this out tonight. So let's sleep on it and start fresh tomorrow. Nora and Sally and I will get blankets and sort everyone out.”

Grunts of agreement filled the room and the three set about their task. Somehow, in the adjustment of everyone’s bodies in the room, Damon found his head cradled in Bonnie’s lap. 

“You don’t have to act this pathetic,” she said, “You’ve made your point.” 

“Pathetic? I haven't had a magic-induced aneurysm in years. I’m in recovery,” he said and snorted, "My body isn't what it used to be." 

Bonnie winced a little. She had forgotten he was human now. 

"Sorry," she muttered. 

Damon arched his neck back to look directly into her pale green eyes, "No, you're not." 

"Shut up," she said, letting her eyes drift away from him as she absent-mindedly stroked his dark hair. Mel narrowed her eyes at the two of them as they seemed to fall into some rhythm or frequency only they understood. Mel leaned toward her sister. 

“I thought they hated each other?” Mel said. 

Maggie reached out a bit with her empathetic senses toward the twosome. The energy she got back from them was strong and confusing. 

She turned to her sister and said, “It’s complicated.”


End file.
